Sports narratives and historical nationalism: re-visiting the context and use of field hockey in Chak De! India
Faculty Advisor
Date
2024
Keywords
field hockey, Indian cinema, nationalism, identity, Olympic Games
Abstract (summary)
Indian cinema is known for its dramatic narratives that celebrate emotionally elevated visual spectacles through which people from different sociocultural backgrounds come across popular domains of cultural practices, social norms and historical realities that unify them. Field hockey belongs to the popular realm of sports in India which is part of the country’s national identity. India’s participation and success in field hockey at the Olympic Games make it one of the country’s most successful international sports. Indian film narratives about field hockey help to create public discourse about how the sport has historically played a role in shaping national pride and identity in India. Hockey evokes nationalism by symbolizing historical achievements, unity, and cultural identity, inspiring pride and patriotism through the portrayal of heroes, national symbols, and emotional narratives in media and public discourse. The film Chak De! India portrays Indian hockey as a patriotic unifying national narrative and as an empowering discourse that can upend traditional gender stereotypes. It delineates that hockey not only acts as a sports game for entertainment but is an indicator of nationalistic significance and cultural identity that elevates the emotional realm of Indians through the notion of patriotism.
Publication Information
Raj, S. J., & Suresh, A. K. (2024). Sports narratives and historical nationalism: Re-visiting the context and use of field hockey in Chak De! India. International Journal of the History of Sport, 41(10–11), 1096–1109. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523367.2024.2406495
Notes
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Article
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